Demonic Ressurection – The Return To Darkness

There’s a band you may or may not know called DEMONIC RESSURECTION from India who’s been around for 10+ years, and starting to make some noise in the metal underground.  I honestly hadn’t heard of them, but glad to be pointed in their direction.  Our good pals at Candlelight Records are releasing the band’s latest release, The Return To Darkness, and the band’s musical direction has enough differentiation for a Dimmu Borgir fan to dig, an Emperor fan to find some similarities, and an At The Gates fan to raise a horn.  The band also knows how to get technical at times, but it’s the suspense that the band builds into the listener that really makes The Return To Darkness the gem that it is.  And look at that album artwork!  Stunning to say the least.

The Return To Darkness opens with “Between Infinity And Oblivion”, and you’ll hear some dark orchestral vibrations that hint the mass amount of destruction to come on this release.  But I can say now you’ll be surprised the twists and turns that are taken on The Return To Darkness.  The first proper song “Where Dreams And Darkness Unite” is a mix of symphonic black metal, melodic death metal, and even some prog.  Oh yes, the combination becomes pretty epic on “Between Infinity And Oblivion”.  The band is very good at changing the mood, so while you’re first impression is that DEMONIC RESSURECTION is easily a black metal band, you’ll get lost in their melodic death metal onslaught and may even forget the black metal part of them.  You’ll understand this when you hear this album.

You’ll remember black metal again once you listen to “The Unrelenting Surge Of Vengeance”.  The song reminds me of a chapter from Dimmu Borgir’s masterpiece, Enthrone Darkness Triumphant.  Hell, actually a bunch of the orchestral tones sound exactly the same as “Tormentor Of Christian Souls”, but since a) I love that song, and b) I’m glad to see Dimmu’s heavy influence precisely displayed here, I’ll cut DEMONIC RESSURECTION a break.  Listen to the evil in “The Unrelenting Surge Of Vengeance”, and the band surely will grab your attention.

Other songs on The Return To Darkness follow pretty much the same path, but the band proves that they can maintain the integrity of their sound.  Riff after riff, DEMONIC RESSURECTION keeps the metalhead interested enough to clear an extra spot on the shelf for a DEMONIC RESURRECTION album.  Songs like “A Tragedy Befallen” are proggy and riff crazy, while “Bound By Blood, Fire And Stone” and the closing song “Omega, I” have that impactful metal vibe like a Sepultura or Hypocrisy with plenty of symphonic stunners, and even a metalcore vibe like a Darkest Hour at times.  Oh and I should add that these guys know how to play the guitar.  There’s some tasty guitar solos on The Return To Darkness that will definitely peak your interest, but it’s the way DEMONIC RESSURECTION builds up their songs that will convert you (some which clock in pretty lengthy!).  Wait!  And how about that curveball of a track “Lord Of Pestilence”?  The band can sure slow things up to a halt, even when ambiance and clean vox come into place, but as you may have expected, “Lord Of Pestilence” transitions to become BALLS HEAVY!  Just take a listen for yourself, and be patient, my friend.  Song clocks in at 12:07, and you need to soak in each second of it.

The wheel isn’t being reinvented here at all, but what you’ve got with The Return To Darkness is a solid chunk of metal.  What fact does back up India is that they are very good students over there.  DEMONIC RESSURECTION has studied day in and night out their metal, understand how to structure a song, and have found a way to channel the best out of each respective subgenre they do (symphonic black metal, old school black metal, melodic death metal, prog metal) and try their best to mirror.  These guys are at least worth a listen.

Rating: 6 / 10
Label: Candlelight Records
Website: http://www.myspace.com/demonicressurection
By Alex Gilbert